


Cheese

by hydeing



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff and Crack, I hope, M/M, Naruto is a bit of a dumbass, No Beta, One Shot, Romance, Romantic Soulmates, Sorry Not Sorry, Soulmates, author is a bit of a dumbass as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27313243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hydeing/pseuds/hydeing
Summary: “Believe me, I’m no demon.”“That’s what a demon would say,” Naruto thought, and immediately clasped a hand over his mouth. No talking to the demon! He cannot let it brainwash him!
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 5
Kudos: 94





	Cheese

**Author's Note:**

> Just something I wrote to amuse myself during these trying times. Hope you enjoy!

_„Wake up!”_

At the tender age of twelve Naruto started hearing voices. Actually, it was just one voice.

At first, he didn’t even realise the voice was in his head. He was doing something stupid he didn’t even fully remember now – like collecting beetles – when he first heard it.

“ _Hn._ ” Followed with: “ _Hey._ ”

Naruto was crouching in front of a thick tree, about to catch a particularly beautiful beetle – it was big, with long, strong looking antennae, and its body such a beautiful green colour, almost iridescent in the late afternoon sun. It was extremely captivating, especially for a young boy interested in these kinds of things. Obviously, he ignored whatever he heard, assuming it was just some of the kids in the area talking to each other. A big jar clasped in his hand at the ready, he reached with the other to grab the insect. It was a very delicate operation – he didn’t want it to fly away. He was so close, millimetres from grasping that magnificent creature and putting it in his jar, when he heard it again. Louder this time.

“ _Hey!”_

Naruto jumped up, then immediately landed on his ass, jar rolling on the ground and the beetle already flying away. Along with his hopes and dreams.

“ **My beetle...** ” He thought sadly, hand reaching out as if still trying to catch the creature, but instead grabbing at nothing. With a loud cry, he flung back, hitting the ground and began to throw a mini tantrum.

Naruto liked to be dramatic at times.

“ _Sorry about your beetle.”_

Terrified, he looked around frantically, trying to find whoever was observing him but didn’t see anybody. He didn’t realise it until now, being too distracted looking for beetles, but he wandered off far away from where the kids usually played. A cold shiver ran down his spine.

“ _It’s me, in your head. And I’m talking to you, dummy._ ”

That was enough for Naruto, as he quickly got up not even bothering to pick up the jar, and ran home. Frankly, he thought a demon started living in his head and they would have to exorcise it, which scared him even more. The only piece of knowledge about demons and exorcisms he had was from the movie ‘The Exorcist’ that he’s once seen without his parents’ permission, late at night. And he really wasn’t looking forward to walking down the stairs while bent the other way or his head spinning. Was that his punishment for watching the movie? He was now possessed by a demon?!

“ _Believe me, I’m no demon._ ”

“ **That’s what a demon would say,** ” Naruto thought and immediately clasped a hand over his mouth. No talking to the demon! He cannot let it brainwash him!

As soon as he came home on the verge of tears, he went to look for his mother. She was a very smart woman and she would definitely know what was going on. She listened to his shaky voice as he told her everything, smiling wider and wider with each word and started caressing his hair. He was very confused as to what was so funny about him being possessed, but his mother’s touch calmed him down and when she suggested they go look for his father, he complied. His father, as usual, was stuck in the garden doing some work on his beloved flower beds. Fortunately, Naruto was calm and somewhat collected at this point, because what they told him after that would be even harder to grasp if he was distressed.

Everyone had a soulmate – someone they are destined to be with. A strong karmic connection with another that can never be severed, a reflection of the other person, someone who will hold their hand and walk with them no matter what. Someone they can always count on. _Their person._ And to ensure that they both meet, their bond allowed them to communicate through their thoughts – which would usually start around the age of twelve. As it turned out, the voice that Naruto heard was no other, but his soulmate's.

“ _If you don’t wake up right this second, I will start singing ‘Careless Whisper’._ ” A voice he’s known for almost a decade now, spoke again in his head.

Naruto’s eyes shot open and he immediately sat up. If there was one thing not perfect about his soulmate it was the fact he couldn’t sing for shit. Even in his thoughts. Also, Naruto hated ‘Careless Whisper’ and the man was fully aware of that fact. Maybe that demon thing wasn’t so far off.

“ **I’m awake, I’m awake,** ” he thought, rubbing his face. “ **But at what cost?** ”

He got out from under the warm cover and went to the kitchen, almost tripping on the way. It was still dark outside; faint singing of birds could be heard somewhere in the distance. Definitely too early for him. He really didn’t want to be awake yet.

“ _So, you get to talk to my lovely self, obviously._ ”

Naruto smirked, involuntarily. “ **Ah, yes, I forgot what a great conversationalist you are.** ”

“ _Hn,_ ” was the only thing he heard. Fitting.

His soulmate’s name was Sasuke. He was the same age as Naruto and was studying Computer Science all the way across the country. He was a very handsome man – standing tall and proud with his back as straight as a board. Dark hair, straight and silky, slightly longer in the front, framing the face that could make a greek statue jealous. His black eyes held mysteries of the world, unexplored galaxies, beyond the reach of ordinary men. One would have to actually be inside his beautiful head to be privy to those secrets. Thankfully Naruto was no ordinary.

They’ve never met. At least not yet, only seeing each other in pictures and on video chat a couple of times. Sometimes Naruto wished they didn’t live so far away from each other, especially on a morning like this. Sasuke usually woke him up, because Naruto asked him to, otherwise he would always be late for everything. It was nice of him, but Naruto wished the man was here in person to do it. That way they could both enjoy a cup of hot coffee and breakfast together. But no, they had to be so far away from each other. They’ve decided to – or maybe it was Sasuke – to meet once they fulfilled all their obligations, such as getting a degree, and start their life together then. Sasuke was extremely ambitious and fiercely intelligent, so of course he had to attend the best CompSci program in the whole of Japan. Naruto loved and hated that about him.

He himself was ambitious alright, performing well at his university where he was studying psychology in hopes of becoming a family counsellor, but what mattered most to him were relationships that he had with those closest to him – that meant, first and foremost, Sasuke. Which is why he was trying to respect his wishes. What’s one more year?

“ _Did you fall asleep again? You tend to do that. Don’t make me sing, I beg you._ ”

A long fucking time, that’s what.

“ **Even I am not that much of a masochist,** ” Naruto thought. “ **Sorry, I got distracted.** ”

“ _Yeah, okay, better focus. You have work and then you wanted to study._ ”

“ **Yes, mother.** ”

“ _Don’t make me call Sakura and ask her to slap you._ ”

*

To better manage his expenses and not completely ruin his parents’ bank accounts, since they still supported him, Naruto got a part-time job in a toy store. It was a small cosy shop in one of the malls in the city centre. It paid well, the hours fit with his class schedule and he loved messing with his co-workers when days were particularly slow. Also, another perk was the fact his good friend - Sakura - was working there as well. They went to the same school and got paired up on some project in sixth grade and the rest is history. Even though Naruto annoyed the shit out of her, they somehow became friends. She was a nice girl, if sometimes a bit harsh, but nevertheless she was putting up with him, so she deserved an award. 

Sakura has already met her soulmate in real life and they both lived together, happier than ever. Her name was Ino and she was working in a flower shop just opposite theirs. He’s caught them making the most disgustingly in love faces at each other on numerous occasions. Naruto wasn’t jealous in the slightest. 

Okay, in all honesty he was a bit jealous. Maybe like thirty percent of the time, not more. The rest? He was super happy for her, no doubt. Okay, he was jealous like thirty-five percent of the time, at most. Not more than forty, and definitely not fifty. Oh god, he was the worst friend ever! On top of that he just blocked their work computer’s mouse laser with a sticker like Sasuke once told him he could do, so that the mouse wouldn’t work. Sakura was good at taking care of the administrative stuff at their store, so she would usually fill out the necessary documents on the computer. And that was exactly what she was doing at the moment. He was so dead.

Three.

Two.

One.

“Narutoooooooooo!”

*

Naruto ended up with a bruise the size of Mount Everest on his head. 

" _Oh poor you."_ Sasuke couldn't hide the amusement colouring his tone. 

Naruto only slid further down on the green couch he was sitting in, rubbing the back of his head; a textbook in his lap. He lived alone in a small studio apartment. He moved out of his parents’ house at eighteen upon starting university, wanting to become independent from the get-go. He wasn’t the biggest fan of living by himself but having Sasuke with him almost at all hours albeit only in his head, made all of this bearable.

" **It's not funny,** " he grumbled. " **What if it impacts my ability to study effectively?** " 

Naruto had a very important exam coming up. It was accounting for more than a half of his final grade. He needed to do well. 

" _Well, you kind of brought this upon yourself,_ " Sasuke stated matter-of-factly. 

" **Ugh, you're my soulmate. Aren't you supposed to be always on my side?** " Naruto crossed his arms.

" _I don't remember that being in the soulmate contract._ "

" **Contract? What contract?** "

" _Exactly._ "

Naruto only rolled his eyes. He was quiet for a while, trying to absorb at least a little bit of the material. There wasn’t that much time left before the exam and he wasn’t the best at being organised, so of course he left studying at the last minute. Suddenly, he sat up straighter. The sleeves of his orange hoodie were really long and got caught behind his back and the chair trapping him. He struggled a bit to get them out. It’s good nobody saw him, because with his arms still crossed it looked almost like a straitjacket. 

" **Sasuke, I smell cheese. Why do I smell cheese?** " Well, maybe he would need one soon. Naruto didn’t remember having any cheese lately. Maybe he forgot about it and there was some in his fridge?

" _Don’t ask me. I don't smell any cheese._ "

" **Is this a stroke? Am I having a stroke?** ” He said, a bit panicked. “ **Did Sakura damage my brain?** " 

" _You would need a brain first._ "

" **Hey!** " If Sasuke was here, Naruto would definitely glare at him.

He could almost see Sasuke roll his eyes. Then the man sighed. Naruto never thought a person could sigh in their head until he had met Sasuke.

" _Did you shower?_ " 

" **Ha, yes! I did it as soon as I got back from work.** "

" _Even your feet?_ "

" **Pfff, of course, even my feet,** " said Naruto, a bit offended at Sasuke’s doubt in his hygiene. It wasn’t completely uncalled for, but still. 

" _Well, then I'm stumped._ "

It wasn’t the first time they discussed a thing of similar level of ridiculousness. It was true that they could choose whatever information they wanted to pass to their soulmate, but in Naruto’s case, he would just let the thoughts flow most of the time. He was so taken with his soulmate that he didn’t even know how to block anything. So, poor Sasuke had to suffer through his most random thoughts. He got up and walked to his kitchen area, stretching. His apartment was basically a one big room with white walls divided into the kitchen, the living room area where the small couch resided, along with a small desk that he worked on by the window and his bed on the mezzanine above the kitchen. It was small and cosy - he really liked living there. Naruto opened the fridge only for it to be almost completely empty. He scrunched up his nose.

“ **I do not have any cheese in the house,** ” he whined. “ **And I want some now.”**

“ _I can send you cheese over the post, if you so please,_ ” Sasuke said. “ _It might become a bit moldy on the way, but you know - gourmet._ ”

Naruto snorted and shook his head.

“ **If you were here right now, we could just go to the shop and get some,** ” he added.

“ _Naruto, we talked about it._ ”

“ **Yeah, yeah. I know,** ” he grumbled.

They were both quiet for a few minutes.

“ _By the way,_ ” Sasuke started in lieu of changing the subject. “ _When exactly is your exam?_ ”

“ **The day after tomorrow at noon. Why?** ” 

“ _Well I need to check if I have any classes at that time in case I need to come to your rescue._ ” Sasuke was clearly baiting him. “ _Let me check my schedule…_ ”

“ **Ha, right bastard, like I ever needed you to help me during an exam!”**

Sasuke fell quiet all of a sudden. That was unusual. He never just stopped talking.

“ **Sasuke?** ”

He got an answer after what seemed like forever.

“ _Uhm, I’m sorry Naruto, I need to do something._ ” His tone was clipped and completely unlike him.

Sasuke hadn't spoken to him for the rest of the evening and Naruto barely registered what he was reading after that.

*

“ _Wake up._ ” Today’s wakeup call was rather unenthusiastic. And besides waking him up, Sasuke was stubbornly quiet and weirdly distracted this morning. Naruto was worried.

“ **What a beautiful day we have this morning!** ” He tried. Naruto has never said such an outrageous thing in his life. He hated getting up in the morning and Sasuke knew that very well.

“ _Hn._ ”

His shoulder sagged a little bit at the lack of any kind of reaction. He opted to try something else.

“ **I think I’m going to dye my hair blue after I’m done with the exam.** ”

“ _Sure, go for it._ ” What. Sasuke loved Naruto’s blonde hair.

After that, Naruto decided to just get up without putting up too much of a fuss, sensing the not so good mood Sasuke was in. Deciding to leave him be for now, he went straight to getting ready for the day. Naruto knew that Sasuke was quite closed off in nature, even when it came to him. Especially when something was bothering him. He was still more open with Naruto than with anyone else, but quite often the blonde had to work really hard to chip away at his walls and figure out what was wrong. Like today. Coming out of the shower, Naruto combed fingers through his hair and decided to prod a little. 

“ **You’re being more weird than usual. Is everything alright?** ”

He had to wait longer than he would’ve liked to hear a response.

“ _Ah, yeah, just a bad day, that’s all._ ” Naruto could hear exhaustion mixed with something akin to sadness coming from Sasuke’s thoughts. 

Sasuke grew up mostly without parents, having lost them not long before his eighth birthday in a car accident. He got raised by his older brother Itachi. It wasn’t easy for them, Itachi was still in school when the accident happened and had to fight tooth and nail to not get separated from his younger sibling. After what felt like the longest time in their lives, they were able to stay together. Naruto knew that Sasuke was eternally grateful to his brother and didn’t want to cause any trouble for him, after what they both went through. That made him, in Naruto’s opinion, a bit too serious, never causing any trouble, keeping to himself, and trying very hard to keep his grades always at the top of the class. Naruto admired that in him - the discipline and love for his brother.

The overwhelming feeling of wanting to just go to him and hug him took over all of Naruto’s thoughts. It was almost as if he was in physical pain. 

“ _Wow, dumbass, calm down. I’ll be fine,_ ” Sasuke said exasperated, the emotions coming off of Naruto having hit him as well.

Naruto took a big breath to calm himself. “ **You promise?** ”

“ _Have I ever lied to you?_ ”

“ **Haha, you can’t ‘cause I know your thoughts!** ” Naruto wasn’t trying to hide the smugness colouring his thoughts.

Sasuke laughed softly, but it wasn’t his usual honest laugh - it was a little bit subdued, but still better than nothing.

“ _Exactly._ ” 

Knowing that there isn’t much he could do at the moment, Naruto walked up to his desk to grab things he needed for his classes today. He wished he could just go to Sasuke and shake him out of it; help him somehow. He hoped that Sasuke would tell him what exactly was going on soon. If not, he would have to send his older brother after him and Naruto knew very well how much Sasuke hated being fussed over by Itachi. While he was packing, he glanced at the calendar on his wall. The exam was tomorrow. Also, Sasuke’s birthday was coming up, which meant… 

Naruto slapped a hand on his forehead. 

Of course.

The blonde knew what he had to do now. Enough was enough and the exam be damned.

*

“Please, please, please…” Naruto said to Sakura, almost begging her on his knees. 

“Ok, fine.”

“I swear, I’ll pay you back…” Naruto was talking really fast trying to convince his friend to cover his shift tomorrow, so he registered what she said after a few seconds. “What.”

“I said, fine, I’ll do it.” Sakura nodded her head. “Frankly, I think you should’ve decided to ignore Sasuke and just gone to see him a long time ago.”

He almost squeezed the life out of her when he hugged her in gratitude. Sakura yelped and smacked him in the head.

“Twice in one week, seriously?!”

*

Naruto was a man on a secret mission. Which meant he had to be at least a little bit sneaky. He was going to surprise Sasuke, so he couldn’t let anything slip by. To the outside he was failing miserably and attracting way too much attention, practically bouncing in place after he'd taken his seat on the train. Which left him with the inside and that was even harder. He could barely control his thoughts as it was and now the excitement was so overwhelming, he was doing everything in his power to contain himself. Knowing that he wouldn’t last long, he quickly had to think of something else to fill his brain. He had a bit of a hack prepared especially for situations like these - singing songs in his head. He just needed to think of the right lyrics, and he had to do it quickly! The only thing that came to his mind was ‘I was made for lovin’ you’ by KISS. Well, he could go with that.

“ **I was made for loving you baby.**

**You were made for loving me.”**

He didn’t expect Sasuke to say anything.

“ _Well, that’s kind of the idea of this whole soulmate business,_ ” he quipped.

Naruto snorted, attracting a couple of stares. Straitjacket here he comes!

“ _Naruto…_ ” his tone sounded suspicious. “ _Are you planning something?_ ”

“ **No,** ” he tried to sound as innocent as possible. “ **Why would I?** ” 

“ _Well,_ ” Sasuke stated like he had Naruto all figured out. “ _You always think of song lyrics when you don’t want me to know something._ ”

Shit. That bastard. He did have him figured out. As if he was his soulmate or something.

“ **Ah! It’s nothing!** ” Naruto started waving his hands, startling an older lady sitting next to him. He sent her an apologetic smile. “ **It’s just a surprise! For Sakura! And I don’t want you to tell her.** ”

Sasuke and Sakura would call each other from time to time to bond over Naruto’s dumbassery, so it wasn’t completely unlikely. 

“ _Mhm, that sounds dodgy, but I’ll go with that.”_ Naruto imagined Sasuke to be sighing right now. “ _I have to go to class anyway._ ”

Naruto let out a breath of relief and made himself comfortable. He had a few hour journey ahead of him.

*

Naruto stood in front of a building where Sasuke had his last lecture of the day. Thanks to Itachi giving him the information, he knew exactly where to look for his soulmate, so he rushed there as soon as he got off the train. It was a tall building that looked like a mix of old-school and modern - red bricked walls with a big circular window right above the entrance where one could see a staircase and plenty of bike racks in the front, filled almost to the brim. It was quite warm and sunny, so it wasn’t surprising that most students would’ve chosen to travel by bike. Naruto looked around, impressed by the grandeur of the whole campus as well as the beauty of it. It was nice and clean and there were so many ginkgo trees, giving the whole place a beautiful golden hue.

A loud murmur of voices reached Naruto and he soon saw a bunch of people leaving the building. He started looking around, impatiently, trying to spot Sasuke. Slowly getting frustrated, he was about to march into the building and look for him in every single room, when he stopped dead in his tracks. The mere sight of the man sent a violent shudder through Naruto. There he was, his soulmate, in the flesh, walking slowly and chatting to some classmate. A barely there, polite smile was present on his handsome face, but the sagging of his shoulders clearly spoke of him being tired and tense. Sasuke blew out a breath to get hair out of his eyes and Naruto’s heart stopped. He stopped trying to block their connection, completely letting go. He let the thoughts flow freely, passing every bit of emotion he was feeling - the thrill of seeing him, the fact he was so worried about him, overwhelming love and affection, and something else, something he’s never felt before and had trouble naming. He could see Sasuke stop abruptly, hit by the swarm of thoughts and feelings. Looking around alarmed, he quickly spotted Naruto. Their eyes met and Naruto couldn’t have been faster getting to him and pulling him into a tight hug. Sasuke was so warm and soft and _right there_ in his arms. He smelled of sandalwood, Naruto noticed burying his face into the man’s neck. Squeezing him a bit harder, Naruto thought he could just melt into the man, get into his skin and live there forever. That way, he wouldn’t have to let go.

“That’s kinda creepy, you know,” Sasuke murmured wetly into his ear at the same time fisting his hands into Naruto’s hoodie. 

“Shut up,” Naruto said, trying to control his voice, still overwhelmed with emotion. “It’s all your fault.”

They stood there for a few minutes drinking in each other's presence. Nothing ever felt so right and thanks to their connection Naruto could feel Sasuke visibly relax and a wash of calmness coming over him. He was so happy to finally be together.

“Naruto,” Sasuke said, drawing back a little bit, so he could look into his face. His black eyes were shining with unshed tears and a small blush dusted his cheeks. He swallowed hard; his throat tight with emotion. Naruto was sure he was in a similar state. “What are you doing here?”

Naruto’s hands went up to Sasuke’s face to swipe away his fringe, so he could see his soulmate’s face fully. 

“Well, you didn’t want to tell me what was wrong, so I made the executive decision of coming here to squeeze the truth out of you.”

“Naruto, I’m sorry. I…” he started, his voice trembling a little bit.

“Shh, it’s fine. I know it’s your parents’ death anniversary.” Naruto said, bringing the man closer to him, his hand tangling into the hair at the nape of his neck. “And I couldn’t stand being away from you anymore.” 

It was true, both of them felt the almost visceral pull towards the other every day. It was a miracle they lasted this long. 

“Thank you,” Sasuke whispered. “Let’s get out of here.” With that he grabbed Naruto’s hand and pulled him towards the subway.

*

“Well...,” Sasuke said, opening the door and letting Naruto go in first. “This is me.”

Sasuke’s place was slightly bigger than Naruto’s. The entrance led to a big room that served as a kitchen and living room area, separated by a white kitchen island. On the right was the door to Sasuke’s bedroom. Naruto wondered how it looked like in reality, having seen it briefly over video.

“You’re here less than five minutes and are already interested in my bedroom?” Sasuke teased, which earned him a blush from Naruto and a jab in the ribs. Naruto ignored his laughter and moved further into the apartment.

The floors were dark wood with greyish-white walls, which were bare, except for one photo by the entrance – it was a photo of the Uchiha family. Further inside there was a black two-seat couch and a red chair with white coffee table between them. Naruto inspected the photo – Sasuke and Itachi were both standing in front of their parents, the older brother keeping his hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. Their father looked serious with his scowl, and their mother was a beautiful woman with soft looking alabaster skin and kind eyes. Sasuke looked almost like a copy of her.

“She’s beautiful,” Naruto whispered, suddenly feeling the heaviness in the air. The sole photograph representing a family that was no longer present.

“Yeah,” Sasuke said, reaching out a hand to wipe off any invisible dust from the frame. “I can’t believe I almost forgot about them this year.” His voice was heavy with guilt and sadness.

Naruto immediately turned to him. “But you didn’t; you always do remember about them,” he said, grabbing his hand. “I think you can believe me, huh?” He added, seeing Sasuke’s face.

“If I didn’t look at my calendar I would’ve, Naruto. There’s no denying it.” With that, he let go of Naruto’s hand and went to the kitchen. “I’ll make us some tea.”

Slightly shaking his head Naruto followed. He took a seat by the island, content to observe the fluid movements of his soulmate. When the tea was ready, Sasuke set it up in front of him. It was silent for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Naruto broke the silence.

“Tell me your favourite memory about your parents.”

“Uhhh...” Sasuke sniffled a little. “When I was six or seven, I was ill and my mom stayed home with me.” He was looking at his teacup intently. 

“I was very upset I couldn’t go to school, because I wanted to play with my friends. Our teacher promised us that we will build forts and we’ll be playing kingdom.”

Naruto smirked, imagining small Sasuke upset and pouting. Seeing this, Sasuke sent him a glare, but continued. 

“Anyway, seeing how sad I was my mom decided that we would build a fort ourselves. She brought out blankets and pillows and we set it up in our living room. She even let me have snacks in there and she brought this small lamp that I had which projected something like a starry sky. I was too tired to do anything else, so we ended up just laying there, looking at the lights, but it was the best time I ever had. Later when Itachi came back from school he joined us and even our father peeked his head in to check in. He rarely smiled, but that day he sent me one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen.” Sasuke chuckled. “I’m surprised it didn’t break his face.”

Naruto sent him a warm smile and soon got up. Sasuke frowned, wondering what the man was going to do.

“It’s decided – we’re making a fort! Gather all your blankets and pillows, I’ll grab the chairs from the island.” Seeing that Sasuke was not moving, he rushed him. “Chop, chop, we don’t have a whole day!”

Sasuke only shook his head but decided to obey.

They didn’t have any lights, but they did manage to build a good-looking, hopefully solid, fort. They set the highchairs on opposite sides of the couch and stretched a blanket across it so that it got caught at the back of the couch. Then, they put all the pillows that Sasuke owned on the ground, so they could lie down. It was surprisingly comfortable and warm when they did lie down on their backs, holding hands. Sasuke squeezed Naruto’s hand.

“Thank you.”

Naruto squeezed back.

“Always.”

Naruto was in the middle of telling Sasuke how Sakura agreed to take his shift unusually quickly when he felt the man go uncharacteristically still for a moment.

"Sasuke?" He turned to look at him, resting on his elbow, only to be met with the most intense gaze he's ever seen. 

Warm, dry lips ghosted over his for a second and immediately pulled back. Sasuke blushed, hard and turned his gaze away from Naruto. 

"I'm sorry," he said and started to get up, but Naruto’s hand stopped him. 

"I can't believe we haven't done this sooner," he murmured and brought Sasuke closer, connecting their lips again.

This time they didn’t separate immediately - Naruto put his hands behind Sasuke’s head instead and pressed even closer. After a few seconds, Sasuke let out a small breath, turning his head a little bit. Naruto took this as an invitation. Sliding his tongue out, he licked Sasuke’s lower lip tentatively. The man squeezed Naruto’s sides and parted his lips, allowing Naruto to enter. He didn’t need to be told twice, quickly slipping in and massaging Sasuke's tongue with his. Their lips fit perfectly together. Kissing Sasuke, Naruto decided, was his new favourite activity, right next to eating ramen. 

Sasuke broke the kiss and snorted.

"Ramen? Seriously?"

Naruto grinned and nuzzled into the side of his face.

"You should know by now that in my book this is the highest form of praise."

Sasuke just shook his head and pushed Naruto away, so that he landed on his back and hovered over him. They were going to continue kissing when Sasuke suddenly straightened up. 

"Naruto," he said, panicked. "What about your exam?!" 

"Doesn't matter," he said, nonchalantly. "I was going to fail anyway." 

Sasuke sent him a glare. 

"Do you think I could just tell the professor I had a concussion because Sakura hit me?" He asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Then, pointed an accusing finger at him. "Twice, I may add!" 

"You'll go and beg the professor to let you take the exam tomorrow and if he doesn’t, I will take the responsibility and ask him." 

"Oi, Sasuke, there's no need really…"

"It's not up for discussion." His voice was stern but had a hint of light-heartedness about it. Naruto smiled and reached out to caress Sasuke's cheek.

"What?" 

"I still can't believe this is real," Naruto said. 

Sasuke grinned.

"Well, why don't you just kiss me to make sure?"

Naruto gladly obeyed. They were slowly exchanging kisses, content to just be in each other's personal space after such a long time, when it was Naruto’s turn to break the kiss and sit up all of a sudden.

“What now?” Sasuke whined.

“I completely forgot I bought cheese! It’s in my backpack,” Naruto said and went to grab it.

“Oh my goooood!” Sasuke just shook his head and let himself fall back into the comfy pillows.

Next day, Naruto came back to his town, absolutely insisting that Sasuke goes with him. Fortunately, his professor was quite chill, and let him take the exam not even counting it as a make-up test. And surprise, surprise Naruto ended up passing it with flying colours. With no help whatsoever. 

Next year, they both walked through the campus hand in hand, surrounded by golden ginkgo trees.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: No cheese was hurt during the creation of this fanfic, also the author doesn't have anything against "Careless Whisper".


End file.
